The show, ostensibly convened to pick America's most beautiful person -- with the Big Twist being that the model-pretty competitors weren't told they would be judged on their inner beauty as well -- never really caught fire with viewers, landing around 70th place in the ratings.

Unfortunately, Rush's aggressive confidence too often made the 27-year-old look a little insensitive -- telling People magazine's Jess Cagle that, for someone as good-looking as him to spend time befriending ugly people would be like catching fleas from a dog. So the judges instead turned to 23-year-old pageant queen and magician's assistant Julia Anderson as the most beautiful, inside and out.

For me, a red flag popped up when co-producers Ashton Kutcher and Tyra Banks were so scarce; as a result, the show lacked the watch-a-celebrity-humiliate-the-little-people vibe that can make Banks' America's Next Top Model such twisted viewing.

It didn't take long to realize True Beauty was mostly about finding the least offensive person among a group of attractive, mostly self-centered, surprisingly unsophisticated competitors. The real game seemed mostly about making us schlubs in the audience feel better about ourselves -- we might not have a contestant's piercing blue eyes or perfect body, but we don't spend hours thinking about our eyelashes or pecs, either.

Rush competed against nine other beautiful people over six weeks in LA., evaluated by host/judge Vanessa Minnillo (TRL, Entertainment Tonight), 60-something supermodel and judge Cheryl Tiegs and judge/fashion consultant Nole Marin (America's Next Top Model). Only after a contestant was eliminated was the truth of the competition revealed to them.

Anderson eventually walked home with three great prizes: $100,000, a spot in People magazine's "100 Most Beautiful People" issue and the sense that she got something for six weeks of humiliation.

About the blog

The Feed is your source for television news, reviews and commentary. A group of Tampa Bay Times writers will blog about everything from their current TV obsessions to the changing TV/media landscape (binge-watching galore!). Let's all geek out over our favorite shows together.

As a wee TV fanatic, Times pop music critic Sean Daly first learned to tell time via Lee Majors classic "The Six Million Dollar Man." On family trips, instead of asking "Are we there yet?" he would inquire of his parents: "How many more Six's?" Thus, the concept of an hour. Adorable, right? Not nearly as cute: An adult Sean wears a Tigers hat not to support Detroit but because Tom Selleck wore one on "Magnum, P.I." It's sad really.

Michelle Stark is a Times writer, editor, designer and unabashed TV nerd. Her millennial TV-watching habits rely on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon instead of traditional cable, but she never misses her favorite shows, which include everything from Girls, Parenthood and New Girl to high-minded dramas like Mad Men and Homeland. She never met a reality dance show competition she didn’t like.

Sharon Kennedy Wynne is a Times writer and editor part of that first generation of toddlers raised on Sesame Street. Her TV tastes are eclectic. She's still a big fan of Sesame Street, but also darker fare like American Horror Story and Scandal. As our resident reality TV fan (though she's ashamed to admit it), she has complex theories on Survivor, Amazing Race and Big Brother strategies.